Episode 14: Iris Goes Forth: Iris, acknowledged as having more potential than even Sakura herself, is set to get her own Koubu. She hesitates since she's afraid that she'll be unable to control the awesome energies which will make her very much like the enemies they seek to defeat. The enemy tries a new trick, getting the members of the squad to fight each other as well as prey on their insecurities. Will Iris rise to the challenge or will the team suffer its greatest defeat?

Episode 15: Sakura Returns To Her Homeland: Sakura, having damaged her personal sword in combat, returns to her hometown in order to repair it. The blade itself is a family heirloom but more than that, it has great spiritual power that must be properly fixed. With the blade being repaired, she must also undergo a ritual to prove herself worthy of wielding it.

Episode 16: Anti-Kouma Squad: This episode details the origin of the team's greatest enemy to date, who was once a member of the original Anti-Kouma team before he was overpowered by evil during a desperate fight to save the city.

Episode 17: Overture: Sakura is chosen to lead the fight against a demon incursion but wonders if her teammate might not be a better choice. During the battle, she discovers a new, and highly effective, power that her friends are a bit wary of. Will Sakura use it to save the day or will she cause more destruction on her own trying to use it effectively?

Picture: The picture was presented in 1.33:1 ratio full frame as originally released in Japan. The colors were bright and accurate but there were some grain and motion artifacts to be seen. Other minor issues were distractive but in frequent and the transfer wasn't bad.

Sound: The sound was presented with a choice of the original 2.0 Dolby Digital stereo Japanese track with English subtitles or a remastered 5.1 Dolby Digital English track. The English track made better use of the capabilities of stereo, particularly on the sound effects and music score, but both tracks were solid (I listened to a couple episodes of each, finding no major issues with either).

Extras: The best extra was the paper insert that detailed the weapons (and props) the characters used. It was in orange and white (as opposed to black and white) and also outlined some of the characters of these episodes. The other extras were the clean opening and closing, trailers and a second paper insert that lists a few of the related products in the Sakura Wars franchise by ADV.

Final Thoughts: When I watched Sakura Wars 3, I thought that the series was really lame compared to Sakura Wars: The Movie and I stand by that decision. Luckily, in the fourth volume, the action and characterizations both were far superior and merited a rating of Recommended. It wasn't just because there was actual action this time so much as the series started getting interesting. There wasn't any of the theatre troupe stuff and the enemy started pressing its advantages to better effect. If the series keeps getting better, I'll pick up the first couple of volumes on my own just to fill in the gaps.